Bobbin Sanders

Nomad

I'm thinking of getting a bobbin sander for things like the edges of guitar bodies and templates. The Triton one at Scrwefix seems like decent value. Are they any good in general, and does anyone have experience of the Triton (or the same machine with a different brand on it)?

I notice that Screwfix also do sleeves for them. The Triton branded ones are aluminium oxide and pretty cheap, but come in sets of all six diameters. The Sheppach are quite a bit more expensive but with no details on what the abrasive is (they're darker in colour), and come in a pricier set of six sizes, or 3-packs of the same size. I'd have thought the 3-packs would be more useful once the preferred sizes have been worked out, but is either brand better than the other?

octatonic

I suggest caution.
What is your budget?

Because I have several guitar building friends who bought cheap bobbin sanders and ever one of them ended up returning them. The Scheppach was particularly poor IIRC.
For me the entry level would be the small Jet one- the JBOS5.
Even then I know someone who has gone through 3 of them in the warranty period.

I have the larger Jet one- the JOVS10 and it has been absolutely perfect, but it was over a grand and was replaced with the JOSS which is £1600.

The problem with the cheap bobbin sanders just comes down to the parts quality.
They are just not robust enough and the arbour ends up becoming misaligned, then it is basically useless.

Kalimna

I have the Jet 'entry level' machine and i have found it to be superb. However, it is used infrequently for a hobby, but is probably of much better construction than those around £100. They do take a bit of practice to use without sanding divots/ridges in the workpiece and dust extraction is a must. Oh, and changing the sleeves can be a bitch and a half.

Either way, a very useful machine but you could achieve much the same effect with judicious use of rasps and sanding blocks. These are much cheaper, quieter and take longer to muck things up through inattention.

Adam

octatonic

Kalimna said:

I have the Jet 'entry level' machine and i have found it to be superb. However, it is used infrequently for a hobby, but is probably of much better construction than those around £100. They do take a bit of practice to use without sanding divots/ridges in the workpiece and dust extraction is a must. Oh, and changing the sleeves can be a bitch and a half.

Either way, a very useful machine but you could achieve much the same effect with judicious use of rasps and sanding blocks. These are much cheaper, quieter and take longer to muck things up through inattention.

Adam

I should have made the point that the chaps I know with the JBOS5 are full-time guitar builders and looking for something to be in regular use.

Changing the sleeves on the JOVS10 is a complete nightmare too.

Kalimna

I had a feeling that was the case, Octatonic. My introduction to them was at Mark Baileys course - so a step or two up from hobby, but not full-on production.

I havent even bothered to try and change the smaller bobbin sleeves ..

Adam

Roland

A lot of bobbin sanders are the same design, coming out of China in different colours. There are probably some component differences, but the primary determinant of whether you get a good one is luck.

Having decided that I didn't have the space, or justification for a Jet sander I built my own using:
1. A hand drill on a stand,
2. Home made bobbins, using instructions on the internet,
3. A sanding box with a hole on top for the bobbin and a hole at the bottom for the vacuum extraction. This is marvellous because even a household vacuum sucks all the dust away from the bobbin, and keeps it out of my lungs. Just stand the vacuum outside of the door/window to prevent it blowing fine dust back into the air in the room.

As @octatonic says, you need to practice to get a smooth, level finish without ridges.

Kalimna

Ummm, by 'Octatonic says...', you meant 'Kalimna', surely
I know i dont always have good advice to offer, but.....

Adam

octatonic

Hey I'll take it.

Roland

Soz, trying to juggle grandchildren whilst holding sensible conversation

Kalimna

Sensible conversation on tfb? Interesting

Roland

Homemade bobbin sander being trialed before the sanding box was built. The dust you can see is the heavy stuff. The dust which you can't see floating in the air is the dangerous stuff.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN6usRmWiMyC2G61tWrF_763LonYylge2_KUJ_xsi4eDwxxLwlMVmaxrpiwuWOkUw/photo/AF1QipMkfP-xBhLBya2_gSTaWl_m_4oALrTZkpwJF6hJ?key=U1ozLU0wZzdDSEpPczlLek9QbUFhc0g1czg3LXRB

Kalimna

I made a simillar bobbin to go in a drill press for acoustic rosettes (see Cumpiano & Natelson), larger diameter but much shorter.
How did you true up the sides?

Adam

AustrianJohn

I've had the Triton one for a couple of years - made perhaps 5 or 6 guitars in that time, so not heavy use. It works well for me and seems sturdy enough, but if @octatonic says that "the arbour ends up becoming misaligned" in cheap machines, then maybe I'll regret it one day. I thought an arbour was a shady garden alcove

octatonic

AustrianJohn said:

I've had the Triton one for a couple of years - made perhaps 5 or 6 guitars in that time, so not heavy use. It works well for me and seems sturdy enough, but if @octatonic says that "the arbour ends up becoming misaligned" in cheap machines, then maybe I'll regret it one day. I thought an arbour was a shady garden alcove

Mr Picky-
Arbor then- or whatever the part in the bobbin sander is that the bobbin sits in and rotates very fast.

GSPBASSES

I have a oscillating bobbing sander made by Axminster, must be over 20 years old now, its as good as the day I got it. Although rubber bobbins are starting to wear a bit now, I think the bobbins  are Imperial, as when I tried to use the Jet slaves are slightly loose, although Axminster still supply the slaves from my machine they are a bit loose. It's not really a problem, as I've wound masking tape round the bobbing to pad it out slightly this working fine. Although it was only classed as a hobby machine it regularly does an hour plus at a time and it has done ever since I purchased the machine. I think I paid about £150 for it, which 20 years ago, that was a fair amount of money from machine like this. Axminster's new model AHBS336 is the updated version of my machine, costs £310 which I think is really good value for money. The other thing to remember is this machine has a induction motor that runs silent, whereas some of the cheaper machines have brush motors that scream like a banshee.

Nomad

An arbor is generally something that can be removed from the machine (like the double-tapered bar thing that goes into my milling machine to fit a drill chuck). If it's fixed, it tends to be called a spindle.

Budget: Tight git. Prefer new, might consider used if something interesting turns up locally. The Triton is 120 quid.

Usage: Very occasional only. Lucky to do two bodies and some templates in a year.

I've done the thing with a power drill in a stand, although I never got as far as a dust collection hood (vacuum tube clamped nearby, and a good dust mask). I found the sleeves wore pretty quickly, and it seems to me that the oscillating motion will help reduce that.

octatonic

Nomad said:

An arbor is generally something that can be removed from the machine (like the double-tapered bar thing that goes into my milling machine to fit a drill chuck). If it's fixed, it tends to be called a spindle.

Spindle, of course.
I beg all your forgivenesses.

Roland

Kalimna said:

How did you true up the sides?

The bobbin is made of circles cut with a plug drill, so they are reasonably flat to begin with. It's sanded smooth using Sandpaper glued to a block of wood with double sided tape, being careful not to press too hard and make it conical.

AustrianJohn

octatonic said:

AustrianJohn said:

I've had the Triton one for a couple of years - made perhaps 5 or 6 guitars in that time, so not heavy use. It works well for me and seems sturdy enough, but if @octatonic says that "the arbour ends up becoming misaligned" in cheap machines, then maybe I'll regret it one day. I thought an arbour was a shady garden alcove

Mr Picky-
Arbor then- or whatever the part in the bobbin sander is that the bobbin sits in and rotates very fast.

To be honest, I didn't know what an arbor was either - now, spindle, I do understand.